On working in Hollywood: “It’s a miracle to even work in this industry,” says Washington, who resists being tagged a late bloomer. “I didn’t become an actrss to be on the cover of magazines. That was always a little scary to me. What I love about acting is the craft of becoming different people and telling a story.”

On Olivia Pope: “One of the things I really love about playing Olivia,” says Washington, “is the juxtaposition of her being such a powerful woman and her immeasurable vulnerability.” Still for Washington, Olivia is defined by her character, not her clothing. “There are shows where every time you see the character she’s in a different piece and it’s like a fashion event… I didn’t want that. I wanted Olivia to be a real person. We will always buy new pieces, but on every episode we try to use at least one piece that you’ve seen before.”

On the dangers of the media: “Even for me, I think it’s a real danger to compare yourself to someone on a television show. I know that I am not going to look like Olivia when I wake up and go to the bathroom at 4 o’clock in the morning. On the set, it’s somebody’s job to follow me around all day with spackle,” she laughs.

The hair is bad and very wigg-y looking too. Not at all what I associate with Kerry Washington.

Mismarker

It looks like her wig is wearing a wig.

Sobaika

OK. THE HAIR. CAN WE TALK ABOUT HER BANGS BEING CAUGHT UP IN THE SUNNIES??

I’m serious about someone getting fired.

decormaven

That’s jacked up for real.

marlie

I just noticed that. Someone seriously just thew them haphazardly on her head.

hellyesiwould

Those are totally photoshopped on. TOTALLY.

Chickadeep

They ARE! Reason? I’m guessing there was a last-minute placement deal with the manufacturer and some ad exec said “…we can just ‘shop those in,” not realizing it takes a *really* skilled graphic artist to pull that off (instead of the heavy-handed Airbrush Brigade at Lucky and just about every other fashion mag).

CPK1

and the sunnies are all wonky. WTF?

moppet

Holy crap, and look at how the neck on her turtleneck in the second shot is all janky and rolled up at one side. What is going on? Is this Glamour telling us “you want more women of color on magazine covers? Here ya go! HAHAHAHAHAHA”

marlie

The more I look at that second picture, the more it seems like someone said “we have 5 minutes to get her dress and ready for this shoot.” Because *everything* is half-assed.

Mona_Visa

Yep. Find the jealous bitch and fire her today, Lucky.

schadenfreudelicious

Perhaps they were going for wind blown, but it looks more like it was styled by helicopter blades…

http://foodycat.blogspot.co.uk/ foodycatAlicia

Very Veronica Webb-y.

MK03

They made her look like a corpse. Unforgivable.

decormaven

Hear, hear. Honestly, if the dear uncles hadn’t captioned it, I wouldn’t have recognized her from the cover photo.

Spreecord

I thought it was FLO.

Catiline

Fired, out of a cannon, into the sun. /Futurama

That cover is shockingly bad. How do you mess up with someone as pretty as Kerry??

tereliz

There must be a big diffuser just above her left shoulder. The whole thing looks very flat to me, not just her face. Zero depth of field, flattening what little is in focus—check out how soft her hands look on the cover. That on top of the blown out lighting and the horrid hair and makeup makes her look a little haggard and wan. There’s no definition to the upper eyelid, it just disappears. And her lips being one neutral color makes her face even flatter.

I’m not sure where to put the blame, really. The styling is bad, but so is the hair/makeup, and the lighting/exposure/depth of field makes everything even worse. I don’t want to assign blame to any individual, but I’m thinking Eva Chen might have been overly exhausted from Fashion Month when she okayed this cover to go to print.

kimmeister

Now that you’ve pointed them out, her hands look creepy on the cover.

boweryboy

I think the weird lighting is an attempt to make her look lighter.

CPK1

God, I hope not. Somebody definitely should be fired.

tereliz

Sadly, I thought that at first, too, but it looks like the daylight is just too bright and the shutter speed too slow. Then bad post.

gabbilevy

They’ve also taken a lot of the cheek out of her cheeks. They’re one of the most defining features of her face, but they’re significantly less round in the cover photo than they are IRL (and even in the second photo). I’ve been staring at this shot for a long time and that’s the only thing I can think of that makes her look so unrecognizable.

RedRaven617

The line from her the edge of her nose extends all the way down to meet under her chin. It looks like her face is caving in. I’m not sure if this is an issue of photoshop, lighting or the fact that we are not used to seeing her with such an open smile on her face.

sugarkane105

I’m wondering how far along Kerry was into her pregnancy during the shoot. Remember when the bitter kittens were remarking on how her face looked slightly swollen and different, and that it was a tell-tale sign of being pregnant? Maybe Lucky wanted to “correct” the swelling? No matter what, the result is mind-boggling and obviously not indicative of her actual beauty.

kimmeister

They put on eye makeup that makes her eyes look smaller, and then they slapped on lipstick that basically erases her lips. So, basically, Kerry’s most prominent features have been obliterated, leaving a shot of someone who looks nothing like her.

Kristin McNamara

I was going to say it looks like they tried white eye shadow on the inner corners of her eyes. It totally throws their shape off and makes this woman look nothing like her…

RussellH88

That is frightening. She looks like someone who won a makeover at a second rate magazine, not a goddamn film and television star..

https://twitter.com/Gayer_Than_Thou Gayer Than Thou

I’m grateful for this pictures, because they prove that even Kerry Washington can take a bad picture. The fact that all pictures of me lie on a spectrum from “mug shot” to “MVD” is therefore not entirely my fault.

Eva_baby

I don’t think she did take that picture. I would LOVE to see the unretouched pictures of that shoot. Because That. Is. Not. her. face. The line of her jaw is more square…her chin is less pointed….her cheeks have an ‘apple’…. Find any picture of her on the web smiling widely and this does not look like the same woman. I would have not even known that was her.

NBG

She looks more like Naomi Campbell than Kerry Washington here.

e jerry powell

Uh-huh, that’s the one.

Nancer

Wow, this editorial is really off. And the cuffs over the sweater – that is ridiculous.

alyce1213

Right? If they absolutely had to show the cuffs, she could’ve pushed up the sleeves.

leahpapa

Pushed-up sleeves would make more sense with the friggin’ sandals. On what occasion would one wear a chunky knit – even in cotton – and then sandals? The whole thing looks like Sears just got a luxe line and this is the amateurish catalog spread.

marlie

Surprisingly, a LOT of the looks on Pinterest (I know, I know) for “boyfriend jeans & winter” feature chunky sweaters, jackets, and coats, and then strappy heels. I’d even take a pair of closed-toe heels at this point.

leahpapa

A friend of mine who lives in LA tried to argue that the climate there makes open-toed booties and sandals-with-sweaters ideal. I was, like, “So, I guess the weather in southern California is balmy on the toes but a bit nippy on the ball of your foot, or chilly on your torso but tropical on your feet?”

filmcricket

Ehh, I can see it, actually. I tend to forswear socks for as long as I can in the fall, because I find my feet get overheated before the rest of me does. I’m not usually still barefoot when it’s chunky sweater weather, but the fall coat definitely shows up before socks do. Open-toed booties, of course, are the spawn of Satan and should never be worn by anyone anywhere, ever.

kimmeister

Agreed on all points. My feet are towering infernos of heat almost all the time. On the rare occasions when my feet are cold, my toes are always the coldest, so I can’t imagine open-toed boots or booties working in any climate ever.

marlie

I’m with you… I’ll go sockless until the absolutely latest point in the fall/winter, but I’m still wearing closed-toed shoes.

Nancer

It says that the cuffs were the stylist’s own…. I think this particular stylist should have a very short career. Bring us Joe Zee or Rachel Zoe!

decormaven

Oh, that is beyond wrong. This woman is worthy of fine jewelry- the GOOD stuff- and the stylist just decides to add her/his accents at the last minute. Not that stylists don’t have good jewelry- it’s just that there was zero thought put into this shoot. Heck, Scandal is all about the fashion, and women would potentially buy this pub based on that affinity. The magazine lost out big time here.

Sobaika

THIS IS GIVING ME THE SADS

TAGinMO

If it weren’t for the lips, I’d swear it wasn’t her.

Seriously, every other part of her face looks like it belongs to someone else. And the hair isn’t helping.

alyce1213

At first glance, I thought it was a strange shot of Kelly Rowland.

AnguaVonUberwald

It literally looks like someone cut up magazine pictures and glued them together again to make a “face”.

boweryboy

It seems like they did some screwed up photoshopping around her mouth. As a result she looks like a man in drag – a very pretty man in drag.

kimmeister

I was just thinking the pictures look a lot like one of my friend from St. Lucia (who is male) dressed up in women’s clothes.

lexilexi

Photoshopped.

crash1212

Congrats to the photographer/stylist/editor for taking a beautiful woman and making her look less so. If that was the goal – WELL DONE! That cover is downright nightmare making. Looks like a mash-up of Kerry Washington and Padma Lakshmi.

demidaemon

I see exactly what you are seeing. It makes me sad.

Shannon Beamer

This picture (cover) terrified me from the moment it appeared on Eva Chen’s Instagram – mostly because it’s not Kerry Washington. Her nose looks off, they’ve highlighted her skin beyond recognition, and that hair does not suit her. Also, Dior is pissing me off today. Between this hideous thing and JLaw’s recent missteps, I’m over Dior at the moment.

marlie

Totally agree about Dior. This dress is ridiculous.

http://skreened.com/bkcentral Sarah

I’m over Dior entirely under Mr. Simons. I give him a thumbs down.

MilaXX

Excessive photoshop and bad styling. Essence and People magazine have much better covers of her this month.

annachronizm

Kerry needs to sue whatever stylist made her look like this.

epenthesis

The sweater is amazing but doesn’t quite salvage the second shot; the cover is just…strange. What’s up with her face?

kimmeister

I love the sweater too!

Danielle

There’s something off with the mouth area, especially in the cover shot. I can’t put my finger on it.

Shannon Beamer

I agree. Part of it is that she’s not normally such a toothy smiler. In most RC pictures, she tends to purse her lips. The other part is straight up terrible lipstick and perhaps some rather awful photoshopping. I don’t know, but it’s bad.

MissFern

She looks like she’s going to eat me.

vickilu

Yikes. Poor girl got scammed, “Lucky” she is not. It’s amazing when you compare the pics in the “You might also like” list with the ones featured here. It’s like they wanted her to look like a really bad Chaka Khan impersonator.

Seriously horrible job, magazine people.

Town

I just fear Kim Kardashian has found her latest dress to wear. **shudder**

1964edithgrove

As I scrolled down the model — yes, shuddering — I knew just what I’d find. Dior of course. That brand has taken a nosedive. Firings should be happening there too.

mjude

someone should lose their job over that cover. I would be embarrassed & pissed off.

Jaeda Laurez

That cover is tragic- nude lipstick, awful lighting, that terrible pose- what on earth did they do to her hair?

Latin Buddy

THAT COVER IS HORRIBLE! They messed with the lighting AND she has bright makeup. Looks like an alien.

rag254

I feel like the make up artist had no idea how to deal with darker skin.

teensmom99

Very bizarre to take one of the most beautiful people in the world and photoshop her into someone else.

1964edithgrove

However not the first time this has happened. Bizarre indeed.

valerie747

Photoshop gone wild. I think the odd make-up effect came AFTER the photo shoot.

flamingoNW

The first photo made me think it was Angela Basset for a moment. The second photo I thought – whose feet are those?!

marlie

She must be showing off how much yoga she’s been doing, or something.

CPK1

the whole thing is very confusing. Weird frosty lipstick and cuffs. Do not like,

Scott Cooper

They used a hard light to her left instead of soft, and it looks like it created some unflattering harsh shadows around the nose and mouth, with they rather inexpertly Photoshopped and then tried to go for a stylistic thing by dodging the parts of the face that aren’t usually highlighted naturally. When they did that, they leeched the color out of the areas. They should have at least given her some lip color.

sugarkane105

Thanks for the insight! It’s almost mesmerizing how odd they made her look.

stellamaris73

“Did I stumble into some bad lighting?”

Poor Kerry. Lucky’s style butchers strike again.

sugarkane105

“Did my hair go flat?”

Nope, but it got tangled in your sunglasses.

Karen Belgrad

At first I just blamed photoshop… then I realized I had never seen a photo of her with a huge smile before, just pursed lips or demure grins.

KinoEye

This is all kinds of strange. Miss Washington is one of the most beautiful women on both big and small screens — when I first saw her in Django, I seriously couldn’t take my eyes off her — and yet they’ve managed to do… this to her. Can’t put my finger on it, but I will say those askew aviators in the second pic are throwing me off.

Also, I love how the cover promises to give me not just sexy hair, but the sexiest hair OF ALL TIME. Past, present, future — no hair will ever be sexier than this bombshell look Lucky magazine recommends. Silly editors.

Alex

The thing that’s making me angriest is the aviators askew on her head in the second pic. That’s not like, “devil may care” that’s “I’m about to drop my sunglasses and then step on them accidentally.”

hillmad

Hideous. There is no excuse for this. Someone at Lucky should be fired. Editor-in-Chief, maybe?

Qitkat

Wow. I don’t hate this quite as much as others here. But tis true that the cover shot is “off” in a strange way. I love the casual second shot though, cuffs, messy hair, crooked shades, ginormous ring, and that pose (she won’t be able to do that much longer) and most of all the blue Gap sweater. No check that, most of all the trademark Kerry smile.

Victoria Anzalone

Very awkward.

Mona_Visa

The only “Lucky” thing about this is, for Kerry, is that it doesn’t look like her.

NMMagpie

The lighting is absolute crap and her lips should have had some actual color, not some iridescent mistake.

PeggyOC

Some of it could be that on the RC she usually has her mouth closed. Smiling widely like this changes the shape of her face (and it’s a lovely smile).

Daktari100

She usually looks much prettier than this.

Janet B

Totally love the sweater.
The sunglasses are cracking me up.
Everyone involved in making her look so not Kerry should be ashamed.

gigi kennedy

seriously that sweater is so pretty. i want it

MelVT

You guys need a new category: Girl, that’s not your face. (GTNYF)

Nancer

Love this!

http://piblet.tumblr.com/ Anastasia

Yes. So many “GTNY….” categories. I love it.

http://bidonica.wordpress.com/ Poggy

I can’t get over the fact that the make up makes her eyes look so *small* while they are one of hermost captivating features. It’s like they picked a generic style and overlaid it on her with no regard for how she actually looks like.

sugarkane105

Exactly, they gave her the Sarah Jessica Parker eye makeup treatment.

NOLA_gal

She looks like she got a full face skin graft in that first picture. Her skin looks REALLY weird. Plus the shape of her face is wrong.

Lesley

photoshop FAIL and she is clearly someone who needs ZERO photoshop

MannahattaMamma

who sits like that, period, much less in spangly heels? and her sunglasses are crooked. weird weird weird

jilly_d

that cover…..she should sue.

Imasewsure

Luckily she can just “wasn’t me” and be done with it.

NYCGlamourpuss

It’s very off – like a mannequin.

TwiddlyStun

I wonder if they were trying to Photoshop out all roundness. Her poor arms on the cover look as if they’ve been carved by the puppet master.

kt

There have been huge changes in quality since they got their new EIC. She’s been having a hard time and it feels consistently like her aesthetic is very unlike Lucky’s. How on earth did anyone ok photos where a woman this pretty looks this terrible?

Imasewsure

Let’s hope she got paid a lot. Worst pictures of her EVER…

ashtangajunkie

Kerry Washington should always look like Kerry Washington.

quiltrx

The first picture does not even look REMOTELY like her. I had to read the headline to see who it was. They’ve done something REALLY bizarre around her eyes. It also looks like they smoothed out all the contours of her face. Someone’s first day with Photoshop, methinks.
The second picture she looks much better–still too ‘tampered with’ but at least like herself. But that outfit is just stupid. Heavy turtleneck sweater with jeans…and rhinestone high-heel sandals? And the cuff thing and the giant ring…sigh.

Not applicable

these are just weird- weird make up, hair, smiling, posing…. weird lopsided glasses on her head…

bring back our Goddess Kerry!

KateM

In the second picture it looks like she uploaded her face onto one of those websites where you can try on celebrity hair styles. It looks so cut-and-paste!

girlsaturday

Hate the photos, love the spackle comment.

halleygee

Someone at Lucky really hates Kerry – these are awful.

conniemd

The first shot looks like a 50ish woman whose had a face lift. The skin looks weirdly stretched.

MaggieMae

Who is that woman? NOT Kerry Washington.

Blair Sylvester

are we sure that the cover isn’t Tyra Banks doing Kerry Washington. It just seriously does not look like her it looks like somebody else being badly made up to look like her

oyeyemi808

Fire whoever the editor is that appeared this cover!!

http://gabyrippling.tumblr.com/ Gaby

I am so sick of seeing her wearing nude lipstick. It’s like her stylists are terrified of her lovely full lips.

snarkykitten

Is this the beginning of Cassandra? That face looks whack!

frannyprof

Those sunglasses in picture #2 are just dumb.

KT

AWFUL! That looks like the Madame Tussaud’s version of her — where you know it’s supposed to be her, but it’s not quite right. Wardrobe and styling all around are terrible. And she looks like she drunkenly moved her sunglasses aside to pose for the second photo. Who is responsible for this??

Sunshine16

I could have sworn that was Padma Lakshmi! WTH Lucky?!

Courtney Cne’

Those sunglasses…I don’t think they’re actually on her head. They look photoshopped in. Like a cartoon stock photo of sunglasses. The glare isn’t even in the right place. I suspect she is wearing a wig, and they dropped in these glasses to cover up the visible wig line. At any rate…these are the most unflattering pictures I’ve ever seen of her.

ThaliaMenninger

Are you sure she doesn’t have an evil twin back from the dead? Or someone who got plastic surgery to look just like her in order to infiltrate the White House? Because the contortionist chick in these pictures may be wearing a Kerry Washington mask, but she is NOT Kerry Washington.

LJCdoc

photoshop gone wrong, maybe?

elirt

Someone should be fired for that hot mess.

Leslie Streeter

Who is that? Her hair is jacked. She kinda looks like Kerry Washington, but Kerry’s hair ain’t like that.

pookiesmom

It’s the HAIR. OMG.

sweetlilvoice

She should sue, she’s beautiful and talented and killed it on SNL.

http://twitter.com/#!/Space_Kitty Space Kitty

What the hell?

Trickytrisha

One of the worst covers evar! Second pic is somewhat better, but it’s a travesty to do that to such a beautiful woman. BOO, Lucky Magazine. Boo, I say!

e jerry powell

NAOMI CAMPBELL. And no one deserves that, least of all Kerry Washington.

Leah

Payback for not voting for Alexandria on Project Runway.

d4divine

Straight up MESS!!

http://vhanna26.typepad.com Vera

People need to be fired.

Melvis Velour

After they get keelhauled…they really should bring that back for crimes against good taste…

hmatz

I love Kerry Washington so much, but I find that cover photo of her to be absolutely terrifying.

steeg of their own

She looks like a vampire. She’ll be attacking us any moment now. I’m no longer intrigued by her show, I’m vaguely frightened that she maintained her facade so well. Kerry Washington is a vampire, and these covers prove it.

GeoDiva

I don’t understand how you can turn a very beautiful woman into this mess that in the Lucky. Eva Chen should be fired for letting this go to press!

http://weirdinedgewise.blogspot.com ONEWEIRDWORD

Uh-oh. Just noticed my cuff is over my cable knit sweater.

bitchybitchybitchy

It pains me to say this, but that Dior resort dress is a hot mess. Can we please be done with the transparent over granny panties and bras?
And no, that cover shot does not look like Kerry Washington.

Erica Woods Tucker

Someone doesn’t know how to style African Americans.

elzatelzabelz

She is gorgeous and the first photo makes her look extremely odd. Somebody should definitely be fired.